In her powerful memoir, philosopher and rape survivor Karyn Freedman travels back to one night in Paris in 1990, when she was 22 and when, in one violent hour, her life was changed forever. Freedman takes the reader with her on a harrowing yet inspirational journey through trauma and recovery – from a courtroom in Paris and a trauma resource center in Toronto to working with young women at a rape clinic in Africa. At once deeply intimate and bracingly universal, A Paris Night weaves together Freedman's personal experience with her philosophical insights and her wide-ranging efforts to understand what it means to live in a body that has been traumatized. Drawing on recent theories of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and neuroplasticity, Karyn shows how recovery from traumatic experiences is possible. A Paris Night is written for survivors of sexual violence as well as for anyone who has lived through a traumatic experience, or knows someone who has. It is sure to become an invaluable resource for family members, educators and mental health professionals.
